Waste Management of Michigan will bring a
single stream recycling facility (SSRF) to the Detroit metropolitan
area. Single stream recycling collection programs are expanding
in southeastern Michigan, and to meet customer demand, this planned
facility would process the increasing volumes of recyclable material
generated by Waste Management’s commercial and residential customers
across southeast Michigan.

A single stream facility eliminates the need for customers to
separate recyclable materials prior to collection, since sophisticated
material-handling equipment inside the SSRF handles the task.
According to Tom Horton, vice president of public affairs for
Waste Management’s Mid-West Group, this makes it easier for customers
to recycle. Experience has shown that recyclable material volumes
increase an average of 20 to 30 percent after customers switch
to single stream collection. Waste Management has 35 SSRF’s in
operation across the country.

Single stream recycling streamlines and simplifies the process
of collecting and processing recyclable materials. In a single-stream
system, residents and commercial customers place recyclables
in a single container for pickup and no longer need to separate
these materials in their homes or workplaces.

The Waste Management single stream facility will give the company
processing control over a segment of its operations it has traditionally
outsourced.